Holbrook recovers from first nor'easter

By Mary Ellen Gambon

Wednesday

Mar 7, 2018 at 1:06 PMMar 7, 2018 at 1:06 PM

Holbrook may not have a coastline to attract beach-goers, but that's a positive once in a while.

"Thank God we weren't Quincy," said Holbrook Police Commander Robert McNamara as he described the damage caused by Friday's nor'easter that pummeled the state with massive rain and winds. "But the roads were still blocked, and many residents were without power. It was major to them."

Although the roads are clear now, McNamara noted that part of Route 37 was blocked from 5 p.m. Friday until about 3 a.m. Saturday.

"Also, one section down to Brookville Square from Quincy Street was shut down," he added. "There were wires down everywhere."

Another bad spot was South Shore Road, which was cleared on Sunday, he said. Trees crossed Pond, Weymouth, Morgan and Pine streets as well.

"Those are the major spots," McNamara said on Monday. "There are still debris and bushes everywhere."

The north end of Holbrook lost power, he said.

"The whole grove area was without electricity as well as mid-Route 37, from what I understand," McNamara said. "But I would be more concerned with the loss of heat. There are still limited power outages today."

"It was quite a magnificent storm overall," McNamara said. "In some respects we are fortunate that it wasn't worse."

He reminisced about the Blizzard of '78 and the devastation that occurred.

"We've certainly had our share over the years," McNamara said. "But thanks to a lot of teamwork by the police and fire departments and the Department of Public Works, we have been pushing and pulling together and doing a good job to try to get things back to normal."